Whereas it damage to half methods with (a season and a half of staff management of) Lane Thomas forward of the commerce deadline this previous July twenty ninth, the Nationals dealt their proper fielder to Cleveland for 3 younger prospects from the Guardians, one in every of whom performed out the season in D.C.
GM and President of Baseball Ops Mike Rizzo traded Thomas for left-hander Alex Clemmey, 19, who was ranked seventh within the Guardians’ system by Baseball America, and eighth by MLB.com, infielder José Tena, 23, who, on the time of the commerce, led, “Cleveland’s Minor League system with 110 hits, and rank[ed] second in house runs (17),” and likewise a 19-year-old infielder, Rafael Ramirez Jr., who was ranked Cleveland’s twentieth prospect on the time by Baseball America and No. 23 by MLBPipeline.com.
Tena performed 10 video games at Triple-A Rochester after the commerce, then joined the key league membership.
Tena, “led the Nationals in multi-hit video games (15) and ranked second in hits (43) and common (.274) after becoming a member of the membership on Aug. 10,” the membership famous of their 2024 Season in Overview.”
“He’s a tooled-up participant that may play the center of the diamond, and is flexible sufficient to play another positions,” Rizzo stated of the younger infielder.
“Left-handed bat with some shocking pop and a man that runs properly, runs the bases properly, and actually performs each side of the ball. We’re actually enthusiastic about him, how he’s going to influence the membership when he will get to the large leagues, and we predict that he has a really low ground, however he has loads of ceiling left.
“At 23, he’s getting higher, we see his arrow going north as even this season progressed, and he’s acquired a very fast bat and a few pop and we actually like the best way he performs the infield.”
“He stays behind the ball, makes use of his legs rather well, he’s acquired some pop, so undoubtedly might use that within the lineup,” supervisor Davey Martinez advised reporters as soon as Tena joined the membership.
“After watching his movies, he stays on the ball rather well,” the skipper stated after Tena’s walk-off hit in his debut with the Nationals.
“We talked about it earlier. He’s acquired a very nice, quick swing. Very handsy, however he stays in his legs rather well.”
“He understands the hitting portion of the sport, he actually does. He doesn’t attempt to do an excessive amount of, he lets the ball journey a bit of bit, and he places the ball in play.
“We knew what about him. I can inform he likes to play the sport, which is superior.”
Tena, “[h]it in 25 of 41 video games with [Washington], together with 15 multi-hit video games: .274, 5 2B, 3 HR, 15 RBI, 7 BB, 6 SB…Reached base safely in 12 straight from 9/4-9/16.”
Towards right-handers, the left-handed swinging infielder, “… went 33-for-113 (.292) with 3 2B, 3 HR, 11 RBI[s],” and he, “[p]roduced a 49.2 laborious hit proportion in his 44 G,” because the membership famous after the season.
After watching him up shut for a month, Martinez talked about Tena as a defender, and the supervisor contemplated the place he might slot in on future rosters.
“He’s a very good athlete. He runs loads higher than we thought after we acquired him. Hits the ball rather well, which we knew. However he stays on the ball actually, rather well,” he stated.
“I believe this child has potential to hit some house runs for us as properly. However he’s hitting the ball properly, he’s having nice at-bats. Now it’s only a matter of getting him snug over in that place [at second base]. I actually really feel like he most likely can play second base.
“There’s ideas about perhaps even taking part in him within the outfield a bit of bit down the highway.
“And even perhaps play some first base. However I like his bat. He’s in there as a result of he’s not afraid of standing up in opposition to lefties, righties, doesn’t matter, he works good at-bats.”
“The 6-foot-6, 205-pound Clemmey,” the membership highlighted of their press launch on the deal had “… pitched to a 2.28 ERA (11 ER/43.1 IP) with 63 strikeouts, a 1.18 WHIP, a .185 opponents’ common and simply two house runs allowed in his final 11 begins since Could 24,” on the time of the commerce.
The Nationals are buying left-hander Alex Clemmey within the Lane Thomas deal.
The 19-year-old was a 2023 2nd spherical choose and has 97 strikeouts with simply 53 hits allowed in his first 69.1 skilled innings in Single-A this yr⬇️pic.twitter.com/PBRy5DKdbO
— The Name Up | An MLB Prospect Podcast (@The_CallUpPod) July 29, 2024
A 2nd Spherical choose by Cleveland in 2023, Clemmey made 10 begins at Class-A Fredericksburg in Washington’s system after the deal. He’s at present ranked sixth within the Nats’ group by MLB’s Pipeline scouts.
Ramirez, Jr. signed with the Guardians as non-drafted free agent in 2022. MLB’s Pipeline scouts have him at No. 20 within the Nationals’ system after a 2024 marketing campaign which noticed him put up a .183/.299/.306 line with 13 doubles and 4 house runs in 71 video games mixed at Class-A in Cleveland and Washington’s group.
